OSCE holds workshop on improving curriculum on gender-based violence curriculum for law enforcement in Skopje

Participants at a workshop for law enforcement held on 24 November 2022 in Skopje. (OSCE/Bjorn Tore) Photo details

On 24 November 2022, the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, held a national workshop to update the national curriculum for law enforcement on gender-based violence (GBV) in North Macedonia.

The workshop gathered 21 participants (17 women and 4 men), including representatives from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Training Centre, Public Prosecutor's Office, Office for Criminal Affairs in Prilep, Offices of Internal Affairs in Skopje, Shtip and Tetovo, Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Kumanovo, Public Security Bureau, National Network to End Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the OSCE Mission to Skopje.

During the workshop, participants discussed the set of recommendations proposed by the OSCE to improve the curriculum and elaborated on the best way to institutionalize the changes. They also stressed the relevance of the project and their continued interest in its activities.

Professor Stojanka Mircheva, an OSCE consultant, emphasized that "police officers need to address all forms of gender-based violence, as per the national legislation, not only domestic violence. They must have the appropriate skills and attitudes towards survivors and their needs, therefore fully implementing a victim-centred approach while holding perpetrators accountable."

Participants analysed and proposed improvements to the current curriculum, namely further aligning it with the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention and with a state-of-the-art curriculum piloted at the regional level. The main findings from the OSCE WIN project mapping of police and judicial training curricula on GBV were also taken into account.

This is the fifth workshop organized within the project "Enhancing Criminal Justice Capacities for Combating Gender-based Violence in South Eastern Europe". It will be followed by a specialized training for police officers, planned to take place in 2023. The course will be organized together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police Training Centre, and will ensure local ownership and a full customization to the national needs.